Tennessee Constitutional Amendment on Abortion up for Committee Discussion Today

I’d be remiss in not pointing out that Resolutions HJR61 and HJR66 will be heard today in Tennessee’s House Public Health and Family Assistance Subcommittee. Both of these propose amending our state constitution to add language that ” to provide that nothing in Constitution of Tennessee secures or protects right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion.”

One of them, HJR66, doesn’t bother to include any exceptions even for “circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to save the life of the mother,” but rather leaves it to “the people,” through their state legislators, to amend it if they don’t like it. The other, HJR61, does include these exceptions.

The one with the exception was sponsored by a man and Democrat; the one with no exceptions was sponsored by a Republican woman.

The proposal has passed the Senate four times since 2001 but has always failed in a House subcommittee typically controlled by Democrats.

That subcommittee is now split 4-4 between Democrats and Republicans, and [Speaker] Williams [who is only Speaker because Democrats voted for him] has said he would use his tie-breaking vote to pass the anti-abortion resolution if it is introduced.

Meanwhile, local radio program Liberadio! informs us that “The Democrats call their bill ‘compromise legislation that they hope brings hot-button topics closer to the political center.'” So I don’t need to point out to you why we women in Tennessee have little respect for our Democrats. It’s because they have no respect for us.

Update: The hearing was postponed – WPLN reports that “state bills and resolutions dealing with abortion are probably headed to one big showdown in a legislative subcommittee in late March.” [Thanks to nm and Mary for the heads up]